St John the Apostle's

On the 23rd I had a friend drop by to return a DVD (Dr Horrible) and ended up chatting for over four hours.  It was a nice use of the day where I otherwise did nothing but play some FF12 and feel too tired and weak to do anything.

Then Thursday came.  Christmas Eve.  And I was feeling even more of the tired and weak and didn't even managed to put on pants all day.

Friday.  I got up early and was watching Star Trek when I had to go downstairs for carols organised by one of my neighbours.  Then washing, dressing properly, and going to Equinox (an Indian restaurant in the Forbury Racecourse) for the big Christmas lunch.  Buffet, while my mother and her partner bitterly sniped at each other non-stop.  Such fun....

The meal was decent, but weird.  And the venue full of people, mostly older people but some young families too - including someone who was a quizmaster at the casino back when that was still a thing.

Then to my mothers for a little while to exchange gifts (got a pleasantly small amount of stuff - I usually end up with a bunch of stuff I don't really want but this year she kept things minimal).

Then I came home before tea time on Christmas day and I have not left my flat since.

Boxing Day, I watched some Netflix and played some FF12.

Today I was too exhausted to even play games, because my body is dumb.  So was just watching stuff and dozing.  Made the stupid mistake of starting into my Christmas lollies and quickly ate enough sugar that I now have dry mouth and very regular trips to the bathroom.  It had not occurred to me that a single binge could trigger acute diabetes symptoms.  But I did it.  Like a champion.

And I have watched too many things with Pedro Pascal and not loved any.  He should stick to being Mando and leave movies alone.....

I am bad at effort. This is effort.

It is a weirdly foggy night for December.  Looking up the street out of my kitchen window it is just lights in haze.  Can't even seeing my street.  Hopefully it will make it cool enough to sleep - I have not slept in a while.

I am trying to remember what I have done since I last wrote.

Tuesday, I think, after writing the previous entry I went to University Book Shop with Midget to help her shop for books.  She makes me look like a decisive shopper.  I have a gift voucher for there that she gave me for my 40th but after looking at some Chris Riddell illustrated poetry books I decided I should save it for the next in the series I should have spent it on this year (those Rainbow Rowell books I rather enjoyed).  After a couple of hours we got Japanese takeaways and ate them at her house.  It was nice to see her and her family.

I remember nothing of Wednesday before dinner time, when I went to D&D for the last time this year and we ate Indian takeaways before having a fun if chill gaming session - we have avoided all combat for a long while.

Thursday.... must have happened.  Yes, Carla visited in the afternoon to drop off leftover birthday cake.  Which means I probably had an all day at home all day in PJs sort of day.  I think that might have been a day playing FF12 on the switch.

I know I did something in town on Friday as I had to hustle home for my evening plans, but I have no idea what.  My mind is not being helpful.  In the evening I went to Lisa and Bruno's for a roleplaying friend group Christmas dinner takeaways potluck.  It was a very pleasant evening.  If maybe a little much humaning for me.

Over the weekend I played a bunch of Pokemon and wallowed in my filth (lack of sleep had me worn down enough I didn't feel I had anything else left in me) - so when Firmin visited me unexpectedly on Sunday I am a little worried I smelled of days without washing.

At some point in the last week, might have been in the weekend might have been earlier, I got to the chapter end camp in the BG3 early access (it is almost but not quite the end of the available game so far) and was rather put off by the fact that all the companions offer to put out.  The game is suddenly trying too hard and very awkwardly to show how adult it is, undermining all their characters in the process.

Anyway.  Yesterday.  Two hospital appointments in one day.  So fun.  The first was spirometry.  The second was a new general medicine registrar going through all the tests I have had thus far.  With the very clear message I should focus on how not cancer it is after how cancer it had looked at first.  And now I have to get thyroid hormone and antigen checks every month.  So I was bled on the way home.  I also stopped in at my insurer to check that my gaming PC wasn't something they needed listed as an extra.  She tried to up-sell me to a plain that would cover accidental damage, and my phone.  I showed her how old my phone is and explained it wasn't covered by the up-sell due to age anyway and was probably worth less that the excess.  I mention this because irony.

Today, third hospital appointment of the week.  The one postponed from March because of COVID.  And thanks to my dear friend Insomnia, I was running on under four hours sleep.  It happened.  It was an 'up the hill' hospital appointment with the DHBs mental health unit.  I was declared too sane to qualify for district health board funded treatment.

Then this evening I went for dinner at Nandos with Simon, Joe and Firmin.  Simon and Joe had a "birthday and Christmas, probably for multiple years" present for me.  Joe's old phone, which had been Simon's old phone before that.  I now have a phone so new it has facial recognition to unlock.

Maybe I do need to up my insurance now....

Also My Year in Reading on Goodreads.  Because stats are sexy.

My ranger build was a trap.

Thursday night and early Friday were mostly setting my computer up to do the things I do.  And installing office with my student access while that is still a thing.  One last perk from uni, which I doubt I will be enrolling at again anytime soon.

Friday afternoon, just as I was loading up Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time, my sister arrived and hung out for a few hours before we had dinner plans with my mother, both the celebrate my sister's graduation (the ceremony for which had been cancelled because Dunedin is having drama about those right now) and for my upcoming oldening.  So dinner was had at Dee's Cafe with my mother and a couple of her friends.

Other the weekend I played some Baldur's Gate 3 - where I learned that I had made bad character choices at first level when I picked the Ranger with the familiar as when the animal companion turned up at third you can only have one at a time not both - and some Cyberpunk 2077 - where I learned I suck at shooters.

The only people I interacted with all weekend were Oli and his spawn, who brought me a Paasha kebab for my birthday.  And the only time I got dressed was to go to the supermarket and buy a seven dollar cake, just to do a bit on Instagram about how lame I am...

Celebrating in half birthdays, as Alana had already given me the candles for that by accident.

Yesterday.... I know I washed and dressed for some reason... Oh yeah, I had lunch with one of my most favourite people and afterwards she bought me the lemon sherbet lollies that are why my mouth currently hurts.

It was pretty awesome. I have some great friends and she is among the best.

Today I woke up early and was all set to go to Artsenta, until I showered and was left more than a little faint and wobbly.  To the point I wasn't really up to even putting on pants, much less leaving the house.

Considered playing some computer games but have instead sat achieving mostly nothing - though have finally installed the software to support my keyboard and mouse.  My keyboard now changes lighting as I type - which is entertaining.  If pointless.

 The new computer means BG3 really works.

I am so happy with it.

I am matronly halfling of +3 adorableness.   Playing a ranger, which might have been a mistake, but I think it is the one class currently included that doesn't double up with an NPC.

Before I got distracted by my new computer arriving, I was telling this thing about how that came to happen.  Simon and Firmin had planned things out for me, then Firmin went and watched Joe playing some fancy PS5 game that was apparently fun to watch while Simon and I sat and chatted.  I think it is the first in-person conversation of any real length that we have had in over a year.  I was really nice.

I didn't really sleep that night because my body was being fucking stupid.  Hopefully my endocrinology appointment in February starts to give something that will help with not being all adrenally in the middle on the night all the fucking time.

So Wednesday morning getting up early and mental, I went on to the site we had been using and started adding to my cart the parts they had picked.  In a fit of pique I looked at the prebuilt machines that could ship that day and saw one with the same CPU and motherboard but otherwise mostly better and with the water cooling that Simon and Firmin had both been strongly against.  So instead of ordering the parts, I ordered the prebuilt.  By lunch time it had been packaged up and sent off.

Also by lunch time I was out with Carla again, getting lunch with her husband and then helping her with a bit more of her shopping.  Then home for a bit of a break before her husband picked me up for an evening of hanging out and some D&D.

Thursday morning I cleaned.  So much cleaning.  Also had a friend from first year who I probably haven't talked to properly in about 20 years arrived to pick through some boardgames I had offered on Facebook.  Was nice, if weird, to see her.  And I got rid of some clutter.

Then so much cleaning.  I entirely cleared my desk for the first time in the life of my last computer - so sevenish years - and gave it a proper neopol polishing.  I vacuumed behind the desk as much as I could.  I vacuumed all the cords, and all around the places I usually don't.  I utterly exhausted myself and was sitting for a break (writing the previous entry) when it arrived.  And so I am at least finishing this entry at the writing of the previous one.

Overspending my spoons.

 On Tuesday I did multiple groups (?classes?) at artsenta.  Then went to my usual writing group which ended up just being Carla.  Thus we ended up shopping, with me helping her buy stuff for her husband and trying to discourage her from buying even more for her daughter.

In the evening I had Nandos with Simon, Joe and Firmin.  Then Simon and Firmin debated and chose what hardware I should get, and Simon nudged me a little toward getting it built by computerlounge.co.nz rather than buying the parts and making him do it.  It was a nudge I had been trying to coax out of him for weeks (maybe months).

[BRB - new computer arrived while I was mid-entry, I wiull explain when I get things up and working - assuming I do and am not left netless for a bit]

Typed with my new very clacky keyboard

After writing yesterday's entry Io was picked up by Carla and a people-mover full of excited girls (who had just been at the Santa parade) to go to Tina's for a Swiss Saint Nick thing.  There was decorating and baking of breadmen.  Apparently it is a thing.

 

And thus this monstrosity was made by me.

I overworked his dough, so he did not rise the way everyone else's did.  And I forgot to egg rinse him.

I am a bad baker, but he was delicious.  And had a melted chocolate centre.  Though I was told the chocolate was less traditional and really ought have been dried fruit.  Or a glazed cherry pregnancy belly.

On the way home I thought I might still be hungry, as that bread man was all I had eaten.  I went to Great Wall.  It turned out I was not hungry and it ended with wasted bad takeaways going into a rubbish bin at Market Reserve.  While seagulls flew in my face for walking along smelling of chips and not letting them at any of them.

Today, over a week after I ordered it on Mighty Ape's black friday sales (and after things I had ordered significantly more recently had already arrived) my new keyboard is here.  It is louder than I expected, but that is okay.  It is also much more sensitive than my old keyboard (which had server me since 2003) so I keep double typing letters and gain the neighbouring ones when my fingers are inelegant in their strikes.  And thus I am learning that I often nudge the O key when I type an I.

And sitting here I realise my face is tingly and numb.

[edit] Tingly face was because I had forgotten to eat anything, and as such hadn't taken my 'with breakfast' meds.  So had toast and some 5 hour late meds.

Me lack of satiation response makes not eating by accident surprisingly easy.  Always feeling hungry regardless of eating means eat or not eating can end up weirdly similar - until things go wrong.